Past to Present
by NesSelene
Summary: DA2: She is a youth friend of Sebastian on a mission. Captured and made a slave to replace the wolf. Or escaped and meeting M/Hawke and companions?
1. Chapter One  Part One

**Chapter One – The reality of this nightmare Part One**

The sound of the slap echoed through the room. My hand went up to touch the place he slapped me, but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist roughly. He took the other one as well and held them up. He glanced at them and smiled. I did not dare to look up, but I knew it satisfied him. Yesterday, they took me out of my quarters in the middle of the night and took me to a dungeon to brand me. He actually branded me. The sign of Starkhaven, so I would always remember the leaderless shithole I came from and that I should not defy those I was with now. That's how he called it. I wished I could go back. Leaderless or not, I simply wished I was back in my room as the naïve ten year old I used to be.

I remembered so clearly the moment my life turned for the worse. It started as an ordinary day. Breakfast, a walk with father's Mabari, training. Before I knew it I was already in a good looking dress walking to the dining hall when I overheard a group of people. When I carefully took a peak, I could see the Harimann family standing there. They were talking about the family of my best friend. It was always obvious that they were jealous of them, but would they actually do something? I quickly made my way to the dining hall when I suspected they finished their conversation and met with my parents. I was an only child and I only had my friend to turn to. A friend who I loved dearly and one who I started to see as a perfect match for me. Everyone was tense when we had dinner and I quickly excused myself afterwards. I didn't trust it so I decided to find my best friend. Sebastian. The last I heard was that he had gone to Kirkwall. Even better, it was the only thing I knew. I was utterly speechless when they told me he had left. They gave no explanation, but I assumed they did not want us to get too close. It was not a choice of my parents, but the Harimann family had some influence on the parents of Sebastian as well.

I put on my armor and took my bow and quiver and something to eat and decided to leave when everyone was asleep. When the night had fallen and sleep had taken over I left my bed as silently as possible. It did squeak a little as it always did and I groaned softly in response. I took everything I had collected and made my way out. When I was far enough from the large mansion I stopped to look back. When I turned around a large group of men stood in front of me. I wondered how they could sneak up so silently without me knowing or hearing it. The leader stepped forward and grinned.

"Look here boys. Won't they be glad with this one?" he asked the men who cheered, yelled and laughed. I backed up only to be caught by men who stood behind me. They started hitting me and a blow to the head made me go unconscious. When I woke up, I was in the dungeon. They kept me on chains the first two days and I barely had anything to eat. Sometimes they would put down the food only to kick it away for their own fun. When I finally spit on one of the men he hit me and went away. Soon a tall man came in the room, alone. I could tell by the way he was dressed that he was a mage. He did not bend down to look at me so he just stood there. I was to be his slave he told me. His old slave was not here anymore so he needed replacement. I could not believe what he was saying. I am of noble blood!

"Get me my wine slave." He ordered which broke my chain of thoughts. I slightly bowed, as he wished I would do.

"Yes master." I softly said and turned around to get it for him. Maybe I could poison the wine. Would he notice that before he would take a sip? It was just a week ago since they took me, but it felt like I was here for a lifetime. I had checked every single corner of the rooms I had entered, but I could find no escape. There was always someone guarding a door and the windows were simply too small to fit in. My thoughts quickly went to Sebastian. How was I supposed to warn him now? How could I inform him that I suspected something was going on? That they might be doing something to him and his family. I heard the magister, for that is what he was, shouting from his seat that I needed to hurry. He was not known for his patience, that's for sure. I quickly filled a cup with wine and went back to him.

"It certainly took you long enough, slave!" he growled.

"My apologies." I softly said in response. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Master." I quickly added. He nodded and waved his hand for me to leave. I sighed when I got back in the kitchen and another slave came walking in. He looked tired and he had cuts and bruises all over his arms and face. I felt sorry for him, despite the fact that I was in the same situation. He stood next to me and started whispering.

"Are you all right?" he whispered as silently as he could. I nodded in response.

"Are you?" I asked. The young man shook his head.

"She loves to hit me in front of her guests and then laugh at me. She even uses torture methods in the dungeons when she feels I haven't obeyed her well enough." I closed my eyes and whispered a sorry to the man. He looked at me and he grimaced when his so called Mistress called for him again. I watched him walk away and I started to fear more for my own life as well. Why would they do this? I shuddered when the Magister yelled for me again. Reluctantly I walked to the man, who still sat in his chair in front of the fire.

"Slave, I still have to think of a good name for you." He started.

"I have a good name. My own!" I fiercely said. He looked up, surprised that I would even try to say something. That I dared! He quickly stood up and forced his hand around my throat while he pushed me against the wall. I struggled to breathe as he spoke.

"Do not go against me once more you hear? If you do so I will make sure your stay will be most unpleasant. If you think it is unpleasant now, wait until I'm done with you." When he finished he threw me to the floor and I welcomed the air coming in my lungs. A mixture of adrenaline and fear raced through my veins.

"Get out!" he yelled. "I have no need of you anymore tonight!" I got up as soon as I could without giving the Magister a look or acknowledging his order. I collapsed again in the kitchen and regained my posture while I sat on the ground. It was quiet, apart from the occasional shout towards other slaves. I hated the word. I had just been here on week and I hated it. Nobody should be a slave for someone. I stood up and walked to my room. It was small and had a tiny window placed up high on the wall. It had a simple bed and a small toilet and a bowl with water. I lied down on the bed and sleep took over fast.


	2. Chapter One Part Two

**Chapter One – The reality of this nightmare Part Two**

I woke up due to the light that was shining in my eyes. When I opened them I saw two figures standing in the doorway, a male and female. I soon realized that it was the Magister and I shot up. Still tired, but alert I watched their movement as they walked towards me.

"Come with me, slave. We must see if you're strong enough to endure what we plan to do with you." He said as he waited until I stood up.

"The girl is slow, Danarius." The woman said. I frowned and stood up while I looked the woman in her eyes. She noticed it and slapped me in the face.

"Don't look at me like that. Walk." She demanded. I did as they asked and soon we arrived in the dungeons. I remembered what the other slave told me how he had to endure the woman's torture methods and I tried to hide my fear.

"You see. While we are working on getting our previous investment back, we still would like a second investment." The Magister said to me. "But in order to do this, we must see if you're strong and worthy enough to receive this." He said as he started grinning. "In the meantime, you will serve as a test subject for our apprentices." He continued as he tied my feet and hands to the shackles against the wall.

A younger mage walked into the room, assisted by the woman who was with the Magister before. She pointed towards me and the mage focused his eyes on mine. A purple ball slowly formed into the hands of the mage and without a warning he casted it to me. I screamed, mostly out of fear as the spell wasn't very strong yet. I started begging them to let me go, but instead they laughed. They refused to hear a word I said and taped my mouth.

This went on for weeks just to test my strength. Just to test how much I would endure before my body would give in, before my mind would give in. I feinted enough times, but that did not stop them from going on with their tests. When Danarius told me that I had one more week to go I felt relieved. It would be over soon. From there I regained a bit of strength again and on the last day he stood against me. Alone.

"You have done well." He said as he started pacing around. He looked at the torture machines he had collected and for a moment I feared he had lied. Maybe he would go on with this. "Tomorrow we shall start with making you our second investment. You may rest now for you have a long and rough day tomorrow. Make no mistake. After that you will be my slave again." He said as he wanted to leave.

"Why don't you let me go? I never asked for this. I just wanted to see my friend!" He turned around. This time he had a smile on his face.

"It's not like your family would miss you. You ran away from home, to someone you do not even know exactly where he is, or if he is still there. So you see, I can do whatever I want with you."

"Who was your first investment? Did he or she receive it like you're planning to do with me as well?" I asked. He never said anything about the person who was not here anymore. If he could escape, maybe I could as well.

"He was my little wolf." The man turned to me and started laughing. "He fought for them. He killed others to receive them. Unlike you right now. Maybe I should let you fight for it as well. I suppose it would be quite a sight and if you'll fall, well… I guess someone else turned out to be more worthy." He said while he spoke the last words to himself more than to me.

"Why isn't he here anymore?" I softly asked, hoping I would not offend him too much. The Magister closed in on me and grabbed my chin roughly.

"He found a way to escape. That is all I say. Do not think you will have that chance as well." He slammed my head against the wall and I felt the back of my head burning. Damn him. When he left he ordered another slave to free me from my shackles. It felt good to be able to use my hands again the way I wanted. The slave did not walk away, but instead looked at me. It was the same young man I saw before in the kitchen.

"You have to get out. You do not want to let him do this to you! I've seen how it was done with his previous slave. Please, I cannot let you get harmed like that as well."

"I… I have not seen a way out. There is no chance I can escape here without giving up my life." I said. It felt strange. It felt as if someone held a leash in their hand and gave me no space at all to check possibilities.

"I know a tunnel which leads to the forest. It might be dangerous and there will be someone posting in front of the door that leads to the tunnel, but I can distract the guard for you. If you're back in the shackles, I will make sure someone frees you."

"Why don't you go yourself if you know ways to leave?" A woman's voice shouted for her slave and the man in front of me shuddered.

"I'm not brave. I'm not strong! I'm too weak to run for more than five minutes. Just… prepare for tomorrow." The man said as he ran away to serve his Mistress. I sighed while I slowly walked to my room. Would it hurt much? What if he would not come at all and they had started working on their precious 'investment'? Maybe I would be too weak to move. I decided to steel myself as much as possible as I went to sleep. I was sure that one way or another, I wouldn't get to sleep much soon.

The next morning Danarius arrived later than I expected. I was awake for a while even though I was still tired enough to sleep throughout the morning. I was too nervous though and thoughts kept flowing through my mind. When the door opened I slowly turned around to find Danarius. He was alone and he motioned for me to stand up. Without a word we left to the dungeons again and I saw more equipment there than the day before. My eyes fell on the bright light which came out of a chest to the side.

"Undress her." He said to the slaves which did as he commanded. I wanted to protest, but the look on his face told me enough not to. I faced the wall and counted each stone until they were finished. I felt incredible vulnerable like this and I did not like it at all. I saw how the slaves put my clothes down to the side of the room and walked to me again. They tied me up again to the shackles against the wall, this time with my nose to the wall itself.

"Had I checked before if you were a beauty I might have thought differently about your fate." He said as he ran his hand lightly on my back. He stroked it from my neck to the side of my body and finished by putting my long hair over my shoulders so my neck was visible. I was disgusted by him, but was in no position to go against it. I bit on my lip and luckily he backed off soon. I heard noises from the chest and I saw a tougher looking slave coming towards me. I couldn't quite tell what he had in his hand, but it was connected to what was in the chest.

"Start." He commanded the slave. "I will come back in two hours to check the progress you made." The soft sound of his boots left the room and I could hear the slave mutter something.


	3. Chapter One Part Three

**Chapter One – The reality of this nightmare Part Three **

Before I had the chance to make out the words however, I felt an incredible pain in my neck. I could not hold back my screams and flashes of my youth flew by in my mind. My eyes let go of all the tears I had cropped up and every inch the man went lower it seemed to hurt more. I yelled for him to stop. My legs gave out on me and other slaves held me against the wall.

The man worked extremely slow and I felt sick. My lungs gave power to my screams as I continued them. When he walked away to the chest again the pain was still there. My back stung like crazy and I begged the man not to continue his work. The second he got back and put his device against my back again I tried to scream. Nothing came out and my world became completely black.

I could hear voices far away and soon noticed Danarius was back in the room.

"… nice clean line…" I heard him say. Pain came to my mind again and I noticed it still hurt. Was this normal? I hated the Magister. I hated him with every inch of my being. A loud bang interrupted my thoughts and Danarius and some slaves, I assumed, ran to the source of the noise. Soft footstep ran in my direction and when I opened my eyes I saw the young slave at my side.

"Are you all right? We heard you scream, but I was not yet finished. I'm sorry." He whispered as he released me from my shackles. I fell on the ground and the slave ran to bring me my clothes. As he helped me with putting them on he looked to the newly made marking. The clothes brushed painfully against my back, but I tried to push the feeling to the side as the young man helped me stand up.

"I still don't understand why you would want to help me." I whispered. My voice was hoarse from all the screaming and the slave just smiled at me.

"Come." He replied. "Just think of me out there all right?" A few other slaves stood watch and soon we arrived at the entrance of the tunnel. There a slave ran towards me with my bow and quiver and another one with my armor as I only had some thin linen clothes on right now.

"Stop them!" a guard yelled as he ran towards us. He had drawn his sword and the slaves pushed me in the tunnel after which they closed the door. I heard locks and swords clashing sounds. This was definitely not the time to stand around. I had been given my freedom back by these brave men and I had to use it. I ran as fast as I could to find the exit of the tunnel. It was a long run and I was exhausted by what they had been doing to me. My legs did not want to cooperate with me and I found myself hitting the walls occasionally. When the tunnel came to an end I saw a small ladder leading to a small exit. I pushed open the small door on top of the ladder and looked around. When I saw nobody, I quickly climbed out and I ran through the forest. My sense of direction was completely lost and I prayed for a nearby village.

It took me days of walking and running before I found the first sight of the village. I had survived on eating whatever I could find in the forest and despite the lack of wildlife I once found a rabbit I managed to shoot. Some things I had thought about a lot. In fact, I knew I was looking for Sebastian and I knew I was to go to Kirkwall. When I saw those buildings I hoped this was Kirkwall!

When I entered the city I overheard the merchants which confirmed I was in the right city. This is Lowtown then, I thought to myself. I shifted in my armor, hoping to relieve myself of the pain which was still there. When that did not work properly I decided to find the Chantry. What I had found in the forest was not enough to satisfy my hunger. Hopefully the sisters would be kind enough to give me some food of theirs. I wasn't sure what else to do anyway as I had no money, no job and I was not a resident of Kirkwall yet.

The people here are poor, but kind and hopeful. This seemed to be a refuge for people from Ferelden as well. A lot of people entered a small building. I looked around and was clueless really. When I walked around a bit I ended up in Darktown. I had no idea why my feet continued to pace forward, but they did. I saw people hiding and sitting against the walls. I wished I had money for them to buy food. Just as I was thinking that, my stomach made a loud protesting noise. Chantry. I had to go to the Chantry.

When I wanted to turn around my legs refused to cooperate and I fell down. I felt weak, which was no surprise, but it annoyed me. I never used to be this weak! An older woman saw me and sat down next to me. She gently touched me on my shoulder which felt like electricity was sent throughout my body. It scared me that her touch pained me so I backed away from her hand.

"Are you all right, girl?" she asked. "Are you hurt?" Hurt… Yes I have been hurt. I am still hurt, but I have to go to the Chantry. I have to find Sebastian.

"Hurt…" was all that came out of me. I wasn't sure if I meant it as a confirmation of what she suspected or to say out loud what she really asked me. Before I knew it she ran off. I tried to stand up and when that did not work I sat down in the middle of the so called street. Behind me I could hear the voice of that woman again. She had brought a young man with her which as a mage. I shook my head as I remembered what Danarius had done to me. He was a mage as well. All those mages in there were evil. I knew better than to think that all mages were the same, but I couldn't help my reaction.

"No mages. Please. Not again." I whispered as I did my best to get my body away from them. The man sat down next to the woman and extended his hand.

"I will not harm you. I am a healer. Let me see what's wrong." He gently replied. I looked at his hand and once again I shook my head.

"Don't touch me. Please don't touch me." I said.

"I won't." he replied. "Come with me then. You can walk all right?" I kept refusing his help.

"I have to go to the Chantry first." I whispered. Couldn't he just let me go there? Wait, maybe he knew Sebastian. "Unless… do you know Sebastian?" The eyes of the man widened, a sign for me that he did know him.

"My friend dragged me along with him when he helped this Sebastian. Let me help you and I shall bring you to him all right?"

"The only thing I need is sleep and food."

"You've got bruises and cuts. Let me attend to those as well? I promise to get you something to eat and a place to rest for the night. How's that." Finally I nodded. He wanted to help me up, but I still stayed away from him. The experience of the touch of the woman was strange enough. When my legs were confident they could support my weight I thanked the woman for her help and slowly walked with the mage.


	4. Chapter Two Part One

**Chapter Two – Kirkwall Meetings Part One**

When we entered his clinic, as he explained while we walked there, I noticed there were quite a few people in here. All of them got help already and the man guided me to a more private room. I sat down on one of the tables he had set up and looked at him.

"You never told me your name." I said. He smiled and I had to admit he was good looking.

"I am Anders dear Lady. Might I ask for your name in return?" he grinned.

"My name is Accalia…" The man walked to me and I automatically shifted further onto the table, just to keep my distance. He stopped and his face dropped.

"What have they done to you that you are so scared of mages?" he softly asked.

"I.. I'm sorry. I never had anything against mages before. It's just..." when my stomach protested again the mage smiled and turned around to leave the room. He came back with some bread which he gave to me and a small cup of water. I thanked him as I ate and silence fell over the room.

He carefully asked if he could tend to my bruises while I ate. As I nodded I kept my eyes on his hands. When he touched my arm, I wasn't sure if he did that on purpose or by accident, it did not hurt to my surprise. I put aside the bread and looked at him. He just smiled and I saw the small cuts and few bruises I had before had disappeared.

"That did not hurt!" I softly said. I touched my arm myself and turned it around to look at it.

"Maybe because of the healing?" he replied. Maybe my back was the only area that was sensitive and not my arms. As Anders started on my other arm I got lost in my thoughts again.

"It's something else I think." I whispered as I retrieved my arm from Anders his touch.

"Accalia. What has happened to you? And don't try to change the subject." He said as he walked in front of me. He was at eye level and watched me with care. I lowered my gaze to the floor and looked at the few broken pebbles.

"I was ehm… captured and well you can say tortured I guess. I know this sounds childish, but I ran from my home when I ran into them."

"Did they gave you those burns as well?" he asked as he pointed towards the Starkhaven mark on my wrist. I slowly nodded and crossed my arms if only to hope he did not find more.

"Undress yourself." My head shot up to face the mage. Anders demanded it. It wasn't even a question. He wanted to see what they had done to me. "Seriously, I can feel there's more than just cuts and bruises and not just because of your story. Though your story makes me want to find out what happened to you."

"I told you what happened. I'm not taking anything off again. I refuse to. Can you take me to Sebastian now? I'd rather do that instead." The mage shook his head. "I will not do as you say mage." I forcefully replied while I pointed to him. The mage sighed and backed off a bit.

"I promised you some sleep didn't I? You can sleep here. I will get you some pillows and a blanket. Nobody will disturb you. We will leave first thing tomorrow." I nodded and I carefully lied down on the low table. I had to lie on my side as my back was still too painful, but it was good enough. Good enough for me to fall asleep without the comfort of a pillow or a blanket. When Anders came in the room he saw my sleeping form and carefully put the blanket on me. He carefully lifted my head and put the pillow under it. I was in a very deep sleep which caused me not to respond to his actions. When my hair fell on the soft pillow he saw a trace of what has been done in my neck. He gasped and reached out to touch it. At his touch my body shuddered slightly.

"Maker, what have they done to you?" He whispered in disbelief.

My body hurt from lying in the same position the whole night. As if my intestines were shifted inside my body. Carefully I sat up and looked around the room. It did not take a second for me to feel the pain again and I cursed myself for not being more fortunate. That it was there was bad enough already. Must it keep hurting as well?

The mage was not here yet and I was relieved for that. My things were still in the corner of the room and a tray with food and water was set up next to it. When I ate I walked around the room. There really was nothing in this room apart from the blanket. I sliced off two pieces of cloth and bound those around my wrists where the marks had been placed by the Magister. When I had finished eating, I collected my weapons and walked to the main room where he had been helping other people the day before. He was writing, but he looked up when he saw me.

"Good you're awake. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Well enough. I was wondering, where have you been sleeping? I mean, I don't see any other place where you could lie down." I felt guilt for not wondering this earlier. Maybe I could have slept on the ground if I knew I would take his room.

"Don't worry about that. I have my places." He said as I saw him glancing to my wrist.

"I'll ehm… I'll get you a new blanket when I have money." I whispered. He started laughing and assured me it was all right. As promised, Anders leaded me to Sebastian. He had covered himself in a cloak which covered his clothes and his hood covered most of his head. I felt bad for making him take me through the city as I assumed he was an apostate. With all the templars walking around I could only imagine how tense he must be whenever he saw one. In Highever you could immediately see the change of class. Where the people of Lowtown and Darktown were poor, dirty and living on the streets, things were more 'civilized' here. The people were all wearing fancy clothes.

"Accalia. I've been meaning to ask you one more thing. Were you captured by Tevinters?" I stopped dead in my tracks when he said this and I just stared in front of me. He blocked my vision by standing in between the wall and me and looked at me. "I saw the marking on your back last night. That's what's hurting you, isn't it?"

"How did you…! Never mind. Yes I was and yes that is what's hurting me. Now I do not wish to discuss this all right?" I said as I walked passed him.

"You needn't worry. I won't tell. It's just that recently we met someone who had the same markings. It makes me wonder if you were captured by the same person as him. He had more though and is too stubborn to trust a mage, let alone getting touched by one. I thought of him when I met you."

"The wolf!" I whispered. I remembered too well how Danarius had called him. He was looking for him and now I was at the same place as he was. It was good to know I had to leave Kirkwall soon again so he would not find me when he came looking for his wolf.

"What?" Anders asked as he tried to understand what I was talking about.

"Sorry. Nothing. Let's go shall we? I'm eager to see Sebastian. Maybe I'm not too late." The mage nodded and guided me to the Chantry where Sebastian would be, which wasn't too far away anymore.


	5. Chapter Two Part Two

**Chapter Two – Kirkwall Meetings Part Two**

As we stood in front of the Chantry, Anders continued his hour of questions.

"How do you know Sebastian?"

"We've known each other since we were children. We were very close. Too close according to some people. I haven't seen him in a long time. I am not even sure he would remember me." I said as I smiled to Anders. "Anders?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." I whispered. He nodded and I pushed open the large Chantry doors. It immediately felt serene and safe and I smiled as I walked to the middle of the room. Only sisters were talking at the side so far and I looked to the top of the stairs if I could see Sebastian. I could see the Grand Cleric standing in the middle, looking at me. When I returned her look she nodded gracefully and I walked towards her. If anyone knew the location of Sebastian it might be her.

"What troubles you my child." she said. I glanced at Anders and he nodded.

"Too much, Your Grace. I am looking for Sebastian. It's important that I find him." I replied.

"You have come to the right place. Wait here. I will see if he wants to come." I thanked her and watched her go up the stairs. I sighed and turned to the bunch of candles in front of me. There were so many. I noticed Anders wanted to put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. Making sure I was all right. I looked at him and smiled before I turned back to the candles.

"Maker let him remember." I whispered to myself. When I saw Anders had turned around and greeting someone I turned to see who it was. My eyes did not believe what they were seeing. It was him. He had grown into a very handsome man. I could remember those piercing blue eyes as if I saw them yesterday. It seemed he recognized me as well as he stayed where he was. He seemed surprised to see me and I couldn't control the tear that flowed out of my eye.

My legs thought before my mind did, because I found myself running towards him. He started smiling and met me with open arms. The second I jumped in his arms I felt as if I reached my goal, but also regretted it. The second he closed his arms around me I could not suppress the loud groan of the pain I felt of my back. I fell on my knees and Sebastian sat down in front of me.

"What is wrong? Maker, Accalia. What happened to you?" he said as he tried to touch my back again. I kept his hands away and shook my head. Anders was now with us and Sebastian looked at Anders. When he didn't respond he turned back to me. I looked up with my teary eyes into his worried beautiful blue ones.

"We have a lot of talking to do." I simply said as I brushed some tears away. He held his hand up for me to take which I did and we stood up. Sebastian quickly scribbled something on a note and gave it to Anders while he whispered something to him. Anders groaned, but nodded.

"I'm going back to the clinic. Come to me when you need to all right?" Anders said. I nodded as I walked away with Sebastian. He guided me to a bench overlooking the area where the Grand Cleric was when I came in.

"Are you a brother now, Sebastian?" I said with a smile. He grinned back, but remained silent. "I'm so happy I found you. I came here for a reason. I hope I'm not too late." I said as I gently stroked his cheek. I still found myself wondering if this was real. He took my hand in his own and held them down. As he softly stroked my hand he started muttering something under his breath. After a minute he looked up to me.

"Lia… What happened that caused you so much pain when I touched you? I mean, I am incredibly happy to see you, but coming here did not come without paying for it I see."

"Sebastian, I will explain everything to you, but I have to tell you something first all right?" When he nodded I continued. "Back home, I overheard a conversation. They're planning an attack on your family and maybe even you as well." Sebastian looked down to his hands, which were still holding my own.

"That already happened…" He said.

"What? No… those bastards. I swear I came to you the night after I heard them talk about it. If it wasn't for…Damn them, I could have saved your family." I went from shouting to whispering.

"Anders and three others killed the group who killed my family Lia. It does not ease the pain, but at least they're avenged now."

"I'm so sorry Seb. It's my fault. I could have saved them. I should have. I should have taken another route or maybe left during the day instead of the middle of the night."

"Stop this Lia!" He seriously said. "What happened? Explain to me so I can understand."

"I… When I heard of the plans to murder your family I decided to leave. So I did, in the middle of the night. When I was far away enough I turned back to say my last goodbyes. When I turned around again I thought I was getting robbed. Instead I was captured and brought to some place underground. Tevinters had a base there and I was made to be… to be their… slave." Sebastian gasped and wanted to say something, but I stopped him.

"They tortured me, gave me burn marks as well and left me with some kind of other mark on my back. I have no idea what they used, but it constantly hurts and even more when someone touches me in that area. I don't know why, but some other slaves decided I should be released and helped me escaped so I found my way to Kirkwall. I ended up in Darktown and met Anders who wanted to heal me. The day after, he brought me to you. That's about it."

"Maker… That's horrible! We'll kill him. I promise you we will."

"I.. don't know Seb. I mean, I'm scared of him. I hate him so much, but I'm scared. I know he will come here to find his previous slave. He must have these markings as well. Anders told me he met someone like that. Maybe I can warn him, but after that I really must leave. Maker, he even made me dislike mages while I know they're not all the same."

"I know you meant well by coming to me and I want to do something back for you. I believe who you're talking about… Fenris I believe his name was. I can help you look for him so you can talk. Maybe he knows where to find the person responsible as well."

"I don't want to go back there." I whispered as I retrieved my hand.

"It's all right. We can take about this later as well if you want. For now, let's search this Fenris for you." We stood up and made our way out of the Chantry.

"Sebastian? I don't want to burden you, but do you know a place where I can stay?" I carefully asked.

"Well, there's the Hanged Man." He said as he pushed open the Chantry doors. "We can check if they got a room for you?"

"I have no money. How will I pay for it?"

"With my money if we have to or maybe this Fenris will have a spare room for you?" he grinned.

"Yes, leave me off with a strange man I never met before. In my state of mind that's really comforting. Doesn't the Chantry have a spare room which I can use, at least for tonight? Or maybe just a spare bed in your room? I do trust you, you know." I said with a smile.

"I… Lia… I'm a brother of the Chantry now. I cannot…"

"You have forgotten how close we were? We had plans before you disappeared, don't you remember? I still…" I stopped the sentence as I saw the look on his face. This was not what he wanted anymore. He had changed, more than I thought. As we walked around in Hightown to find this man we barely spoke. At once side I thought he cared for me, or maybe he was just happy to see me after all those years. One way or another, he had moved on. Maybe I should as well.

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><p><em>Note: My thanks to Parliament of Ravens for adding this story to hisher favorites! I'm glad you like this one as well!_


	6. Chapter Two Part Three

**Chapter Two – Kirkwall Meetings Part Three**

Sebastian had seen the man walking to his house and enter it. He was already waiting on the door to open when I arrived at his side. When the door opened I saw the man I heard everything about. While Sebastian was talking to him, I did not hear a thing. I looked at the marks on his arms. Did mine look like that as well? It was in his neck as well and I wondered where else they had put it. When I felt a hand on my own I looked to Sebastian.

"I was trying to introduce him to you…"

"Ah I'm sorry." I said while I looked at the elf. "My name is Accalia." I did not extend my hand as I knew he should feel the marks the same way I did. Or at least I suspected that much. He noticed this as he stared at me.

"Fenris, do you mind if she asks you a few questions?"

"Yes I do." He said.

"You received the note didn't you?" The elf nodded. I looked at Sebastian, not certain what he had asked. When the elf wanted to close the door I knew I had to say something, now.

"Please Fenris. I know you do not know who I am, but I'm a friend of Sebastian and while I came to Kirkwall to warn him, something happened though that I need to tell you."

"Me? How interesting. Fine." He said as he motioned with his hand that I was allowed in. Sebastian however stayed outside. When I looked back the door closed and he motioned that it was all right. As the elf walked up to the main room I silently followed him. I sat down on one of the few chairs that were still standing and looked around. The room was messy. In fact, the whole house looked messy and kind of abandoned apart from the fact this man seemed to live here.

"What did you have to say?" He asked as he opened a bottle of his wine. I watched for a moment as he poured it in a glass and took a sip of it.

"He used to call you his little wolf, didn't he?" I said to get us straight to the point. His eyes widened, making them even more beautiful than they already were. I found it intriguing how elven eyes were always so large.

"How do you know that?" He yelled while he stood up. His marks lightened up a bit and I stood up as well. Not to defy him, but to get more distance between us.

"I… was his slave after you." I whispered.

"So did he send you to trace me?" he yelled as he pushed me against the wall. A brush of air with the soft smell of the wine reached me. I tried to keep the groan of my still painful back as quiet as possible and stayed there as he blocked the way. "I should kill you right here!"

"I came here to warn you." I replied. "He said he… wanted his investment back. He would make a second investment, but he wanted his first as well."

"How did you end up there? Even better, how did you get out! Danarius never releases his pets." He did not make way and still stood in front of me. His chest was almost against my own.

"I overheard plans about the attack of Sebastian his family. When I left that night I got captured. I won't go into the details, but other slaves helped me escape."

"Right, and I am to believe this story? Why would they help you escape?"

"I don't know!" I shouted to him. "But they did all right? They couldn't let it happen again, so they did and I'm grateful for it! Listen, I did what I came here to do which was warn you. I have to leave. I cannot be here when he's coming to look for you. Or me for that matter."

"You have nothing to worry about. He wants his investment back as you said. He did not invest in you at all. You have my thanks for the warning. I don't mean to appear ungrateful. I assume you do not have a place to sleep for tonight? Or did Sebastian make arrangements?" I shook my head to his last question.

"If you want you can stay in the guest room. I guess I can trust a friend of Sebastian. Make no mistake though, if you're up to something I will know and I will not let you get away with it."

"Thank you. I'll leave when I have money to pay for the Hanged Man." I whispered as Fenris already left to show me the room he meant. As we stood in the room he turned to leave. I watched him as he stopped in the doorway.

"I hope I did not hurt you." He said. "I was… afraid you might still be working for him."

"You needn't worry about that. I have no reason to want to." Fenris nodded.

"That remains to be seen." He softly replied as he left. This was strange. I sat down on the bed as he left. This side of the bed faced the door as the other side faced a window. There was one partly broken closet in the room. I stood up and looked through the window. It looked down on a small place which had one tiny table and two chairs. It was surrounded by other buildings which covered most of the sight. Looking up, I could see the sky. I then went to see what was in the closet. The part that had been broken was empty. When I opened it however the closet fell apart.

"Oh… I… damn…" I softly said. I checked the door to see of Fenris heard it. He either did and did not care or he didn't. I barely had anything to do here so I went back to the main hall. Fenris must still be in his room. I slowly walked up and carefully looked inside. He was still drinking his wine, alone.

"I'll… be going to check Hightown. To find a way to.. get some money so I won't be a burden to you." He slightly turned his head and nodded. Wow. This was going to be interesting, to say the least. When I went outside I decided to check about every corner. Guards were the only ones around at the moment which gave me an idea. I walked up to a guard and asked where their captain could be found. The pointed me to the barracks which was in the same building as the Viscounts office. He gave me directions and I went there straight away.

The meeting with the guard captain did not go as planned. He was rude and sent me away before I had a chance to explain anything. When I was one step outside his room he slammed the door shut.

"Bastard."

"It's a wonder there are still guards under his command." Someone replied. When I looked I saw a tough looking woman with bright red hair and green eyes. I smiled at her reply.

"Yes. I can imagine. There goes my chance for a job. It flew out of that room even faster than I did." The woman laughed.

"I'm Aveline." She said as she extended her hand. I shook it and nodded.

"I'm Accalia."

"Are you looking for something to do? Maybe Hawke can use more people. I see you're an archer?"

"Yes I am. Who's this Hawke?"

"He's a refugee from Ferelden, but he's trying to help out here in Kirkwall. We came here together. Let's go see him. I'm sure there's room for you." She said as she started to walk out of the building.

"Oh that would be wonderful. I'm not sure how long I'll be staying though. I came here to see Sebastian and now that I did I'll be making plans to leave again."

"Sebastian from Starkhaven? As in the brother who stays in the Chantry?" I nodded "Ah. We helped him kill the murderers of his family. Sad story. How do you know him?"

"We've known each other since we were children. We hadn't seen each other in years though and I urgently needed to bring him some information."

"And you'll be leaving so soon?"

"It's a long story really. I wouldn't want to bore you. Maybe some other time?" The woman got my hint and nodded. While we were heading to Lowtown we talked about small things. Finally we arrived at a small house where she knocked on the door. A young man opened and he looked annoyed.

"Oh great." He simply said and roughly shut the door again. To my surprise it opened not too long after that.

"Aveline! Do come in!" he said as he motioned to the room with his hand. "Who did you bring?" he said as he finally saw me.

"I'm Accalia, a friend of Sebastian. I heard you helped him with… killing the murderers of his family."

"Ah. Well, don't stand out there! Come in!" he gently said. "My name is Garrett and the prick who opened the door the first time is Carver, my brother. Over there are my uncle Gamlen and my mother Leandra and this one here is my Mabari Redan." We all greeted each other with a simple nod, the dog I gave a gentle pet, and I glanced at Aveline. Maybe I could stay put a bit longer than I meant to. At least try to get some friends. It might turn out for the better.

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><p><em>My thanks this time goes out to Dhallenn for the review. Thank you and I'm glad you like this so much. You'll have to see who she ends up with I'm afraid ;-) Don't want to spoil too much already ^_^ <em>


	7. Chapter Two Part Four

**Chapter Two – Kirkwall Meetings Part Four**

"Sebastian refused to join us, but maybe you want to? I'm thinking about bringing Aveline, Fenris and myself of course. An archer to fill our little team up might be good!" Garrett said enthusiastically.

"Yes count myself out brother. Who cares if I want to join?" Carver yelled from the corner.

"Those two are always like that. It's like they're the biggest rivals of each other." Aveline whispered. "Don't get me wrong, Carver is sweet and all, but he's jealous of his elder brother." I grinned and agreed to join Garrett. Along with the invitation to help, he immediately asked if I wanted to join the group at the Hanged Man where they played Wicked Grace games. They just started and wanted to see if they could keep up with this newly made tradition.

I accepted that invitation as well and looked forward to it. I informed them I was staying at Fenris his place for now should they need me. They looked surprised and started laughing. I assumed Fenris was not the type of person who would accept a guest in his house. When they made it clear they believed me they assured me they would find me whether I was there or not. I nodded and Aveline decided to go on a patrol while Garrett went into another argument with his brother. I smiled and thanked them for their kindness when I left. They barely heard me as they were too busy with their argument.

Once outside I decided to look around a bit. I checked where the Hanged Man was exactly so I could find it when I had to show up for the Wicked Grace game. I didn't go in, but was tempted. The sounds coming out of there were cheerful, but I had nothing to spend. Not even for the Wicked Grace game, but maybe I could watch. I went to Darktown to see Anders. The least I could do is inform him I had a place to sleep for the night which had a roof.

When I walked in he was busy healing a young woman. She looked ill and I was happy when I saw the woman had recovered from Anders his healing. When the woman stepped off the table and thanked Anders I saw him falling on the floor. The woman did not notice, but I ran to him as fast as I could.

"Anders!" I dropped myself near him and tried to let him sit straight.

"I'm all right." He whispered. I frowned.

"You're not all right. Do you have this every time you heal someone?"

"No, of course not."

"Don' lie to me." I said in such a tone Anders looked up.

"Only with intense healing." He softly replied.

"Maker. That's not good Anders. Are you not feeling well yourself? You shouldn't drain yourself like this. Maybe you should get more rest."

"Here I thought I was the healer." Anders grinned as he stood up.

"This is no joke." I continued as I stood up as well when Anders held out his hand. "I know you mean well by healing all those people, but you should give yourself some rest as well.

"How can I rest when I know people die when I don't heal them? How can I let anyone suffer like that?"

"Anders. Wearing yourself out does no one any good." I felt like there was no way I could persuade him to look after himself as well. "You should rest now. I will keep an eye out and assess if direct healing is necessary. I'm not a mage, but I do know something all right?"

"I… don't know."

"And you should not worry about me either. I found a place to stay for the night with a roof and all. When you had your rest I'm going back there, because I really need a bath." I laughed. "Seriously, I do not take no for an answer. Go." Anders looked shocked for a moment, but quickly nodded and made his way to his quarters. I walked around and looked at a small desk covered with papers.

I looked around to see if nobody was here and went through the papers. A manifesto? Why would he write one? I didn't want to read what it was about exactly, but it did not improve my trust towards Anders very much yet. The next couple of hours nothing happened. There were no patients and I nearly fell asleep while I sat against the wall. Finally Anders walked in again, yawning and looking must better now after his rest.

"I guess I did need that! Thank you." He said. I stood up and nodded.

"Nothing happened while you were asleep. No patients. I'll go now. Rest more often, okay?" The mage smiled and quickly grabbed my hand when I wanted to leave. I looked at him, surprised at his action. When he let go I turned around to face him.

"I am glad a beautiful woman had stumbled on my path. Almost literally that is."

"I… what?" I stepped back a bit. The last thing I needed, or wanted even, was a mage falling in love with me. I couldn't deal with that now. I couldn't get rid of the thought what mages had done to me.

"I hope you don't mind me saying you're beautiful. Because I really think you are and not just from the outside I'm sure. You're trying to help me after all."

"Anders. You barely know me." I said, hoping to stop him.

"You're right. I… don't know why I blurred that out."

"You're not possessed are you?" I grinned. "Because I'll strike you down if you are." I seriously added while I pointed my finger to him.

"Me?..."

"Yes I know, silly isn't it? Sorry, but mages are not on the first place on my favorite list as you know. At least it's good to know some mages are kind enough to help others though. Well, I'll be going now. Bye Anders." I cheerfully said.

"Bye." He whispered. It was almost too soft to hear.

I left and walked towards Hightown. I decided to go back to the mansion, the place I would like to call home for now, and take a bath. When I arrived I softly opened the door and walked around to see if Fenris was home. When I was sure he wasn't I took a towel and filled the bath. I slowly undressed myself and stepped into the hot water. This really was a treat after all that had happened. I let out a content sigh and started washing myself.

.o0o.

When I entered the mansion I heard water dripping. As if someone was taking a bath. I looked around and noticed the door was still open. As I silently walked towards the door I could see her sitting in the bath. It was obvious she hadn't thought of the screen that stood against the wall. Her back was turned to me so she could not see me looking at her. I followed her curves and wanted to leave now I knew it wasn't a strange bandit or homeless person trying to take the house, but I was shocked when I saw her. She was like... She had... those marks! Now I knew what she meant that he would come looking for her as well.

When she put her hair aside to wash it I noticed the marks ran up high into her neck. It angered me to know what had been done to her. I knew the pain too well, so I understood what she had to go through. I tried to think back and counted how long ago it must have been for her. It was too recent, that's for sure. Suddenly I saw her reaching for her towel. I had been standing here for too long and I didn't want to disrespect her. I quickly left, hoping she wouldn't have noticed me.

.o0o.

I looked back, thinking I had heard something. When I didn't see anyone or anything I continued drying myself off and put my armor back on. I bit through the pain as much as possible and put my fingers through my hair to get it back in order a bit. I picked up my bow and quiver which I left on the bed and walked out of the room.

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><p><em>My thanks this time goes out to MIRYS for the Alert add. Hope you'll keep enjoying the story!<em>


	8. Chapter Three Part One

**Chapter Three – Adjusting Part One**

I walked up the stairs and noticed Fenris was sitting there, staring at a bottle of his unopened wine. I knocked on the door to let him know I was there. He did not turn around and I sat on the chair across him. I stayed silent for a moment and noticed how he was lost in thoughts.

"Mind if I join you?" His head shot up. He clearly did not hear me come in.

"Go ahead." He said. I sat down in the empty chair after I pushed it a bit closer to the fire. As I warmed myself I noticed Fenris staring at me.

"How did you meet Sebastian and the others?" I asked.

"I lured Hawke into a trap. I used my contact to get someone to be bait as I knew Danarius was already going after me. He knows I'm in Kirkwall, so that's not a surprise. The only thing that remains is to capture me. That's something that will not happen."

"I can't imagine he was pleased with it."

"It seemed as if he didn't mind much. I asked him for help to get rid of Danarius his creatures from this mansion. I believed he would be here himself, but he was not. He can try to reclaim it however. I welcome him to."

"This… was his mansion? Is that why it looks like it does?" Fenris nodded and decided to open the wine. Suddenly I didn't feel so comfortable anymore. "Right…" I whispered. He poured in a glass and gave it to me. I thanked him and stared at it. As he poured some in for himself as well I drank half of the wine from my glass.

"Why are you so scared of Danarius?" He asked me.

"Apart from the fact he wanted me to be his slave? Even better, he actually used me as his slave." My memory went back to when Danarius had grabbed me by the throat and threatened me not to defy him.

"Apart from the fact that this disgusting mage touched me while I was stuck in shackles?" Anger filled me as I spoke. "Apart from the fact he basically tortured me?" My hands gripped the glass as hard as they could which caused the glass to snap. The remaining wine fell on the floor along with the broken pieces of glass. I payed no attention to my hand as I tried to clean it up. It was not my house after all and I didn't want to make a mess out of it more than it was already.

"Leave it." Fenris said as he walked towards me with a piece of cloth. I looked at my hand and slowly removed a few pieces of glass which got stuck in there and accepted the cloth from Fenris.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for breaking the glass and for spoiling your wine." I sighed.

"Accalia it doesn't matter. Trust me. The wine doesn't belong to me. It's from Danarius. He used to have me pour it to his guests. My appearance scared them, he said."

"I can't imagine why they would be put off." I softly replied with a smile. In the meantime I was taking care of my hand with the cloth that Fenris gave me. I honestly found the elf attractive so it was no lie. He smiled and quickly looked to the fire.

"I'll take that as a compliment." He said as he drank more of his wine. Before he had a chance to continue I stood up.

"I'll go see what to make for dinner." I said and I quickly walked out. In the kitchen I applied the cloth bandages properly before looking for some food. The least I could do was make dinner. I already had a room for the night. Despite the fact this used to be the mansion of Danarius, knowing Fenris was around made me feel better. He wanted him as dead as I wanted him to be.

"You don't have to do this you know." He said from the doorway. He leaned against it as I was picking food to prepare.

"It makes me feel like I'm doing something in return. I mean, you already gave up a part of your house for me. For someone you do not know even though it's temporary."

"If you insist."

"I do!" I cheerfully said.

"Do you know when you're heading home?"

"No. I don't want to bring danger with me when I go back so I think you'll have to get used to seeing me around here. Whether I live here, at the Hanged Man or anywhere else in Kirkwall." I grinned.

"I'm glad that you are staying around." he said. I looked at Fenris and nodded.

"I think I am as well." I softly replied as I continued working on our dinner. Preparing a meal for the both of us went relatively easy. I wasn't used to do so, but it was better than collecting berries in the forest and still wanting to have more. Fenris seemed to enjoy it and I had to say it was not too bad. I chuckled to myself when I realized this was one of the very few times ever that I cooked. Silence fell over us, but it did not feel bad. When we were both done, I cleaned everything up and agreed to meet at the Hanged Man for Wicked Grace.

I had to see Sebastian. It would only be fair to inform him that everything was all right and that I already met more people than I thought I would. When I walked it the Chantry, it was as peaceful as ever. Sebastian was standing near the Grand Cleric and looked at me when the Chantry doors shut softly. He smiled and walked towards me.

"Hello Lia. Is everything all right?"

"I'm fine Seb. Fenris gave me a room for now. I promised I'd be gone whenever I have enough money for the Hanged Man." He nodded and motioned for me to walk with him. We left the Chantry and slowly made our way through Hightown.

"Are you going to the Hanged Man tonight as well?"

"Ah, you are invited for their Wicked Grace nights? I see you met Hawke then already." he grinned. I laughed as well and gave him a push, causing him to stumble to which he bursted out as well.

"You know Lia... I never meant to leave just like that. I wanted to explain everything to you, but my parents kept me away."

"What brought this up?"

"I don't know, maybe us laughing together. We had some good times didn't we?" I looked at him and stood still. He looked at me and stood in front of me.

"Yes we did, Sebastian. I'm sorry for thinking we could go back to that. I just... well it's what you said. We had a good time together. Listen, I wanted to make sure you knew I was all right for the night and now you know so... I'll be going to the Hanged Man. I will talk to you later, Seb."

"Lia, wait!" he grabbed my arm and pulled me a bit towards him.

"I... loved you, you know. I still care a lot about you." I lowered my head and put my hand on his chest. "The years might have changed me, but only for the better I hope. Come talk to me later, Lia. There is still something you need to know." I looked up in confusion. His face had a pained expression and I wasn't sure what he needed to tell.

"No, tell me now if it's important." I said as I took back my arm from his grip.

"Well, it is. I couldn't tell you before and I'm so very sorry about that. I don't know why I haven't..."

"Sebastian! What is going on?" I was getting nervous and did not like where this was heading at all.

"Do you remember when I told you that Hawke helped kill the murderers of my family?" I nodded and waited for more.

"I... Lia... Your parents... were also there that night." I just stared at him, trying to let sink in what I had just been told. Was he telling me that the persons responsible for killing Sebastian his parents also killed mine? Just because they were in the same house? Tears welled up and Sebastian wanted to comfort me. I hit away his arms when he tried to and ran off.

I noticed I automatically ran to Lowtown, towards the Hanged Man where I'd meet with Fenris, Hawke and their friends. I stood in front of the door for a moment while I whiped away the tears from my cheek. I took in a few deep breaths and eventually walked in. Hawke turned and waved happily when he saw it was me. Fenris looked up from his cards and smiled. I returned the smile as well as I could and sat down at the table.


	9. Chapter Three Part Two

**Chapter Three – Adjusting Part Two**

"Put her on my account for tonight." Fenris said. He immediately got reactions from the group, but eased their mind by saying this was my first time here and I had no money. I met Isabela and Varric and looked at their card game. I refused to play as I did not want to burden them further apart from the drinks they got for me.

The evening itself was a lot of fun and it made me forget about my sorrows. When people started to leave to get some sleep it got quiet very fast though. Isabela, Hawke, Fenris and I were the only ones left and I decided to leave as well. I felt my mood change and I did not want to let it out to them. I excused myself and thanked Fenris for the drinks with the promise I'd pay him back. I quickly left and headed to the mansion.

I did not look back and was grateful when I reached it as fast as I hoped. The moment I closed the door I couldn't hold back anymore. I screamed and cursed and knew it must have been my fault. If I had not ran away, they wouldn't have to see Sebastian his parents and they wouldn't have died as well. I should have warned them straight away and risk them not believing me instead of finding Sebastian.

I sat like that for ten minutes with my hands in my hair and my elbows resting on my knees. Eventually I got up and went to my room. I sat in a chair in front of the fire and stared at it. Here I thought I was doing the right thing and now everything is casted back in my face. I embraced the warmth of the fire. My back seemed to absorb it and cast it out through my body. It wasn't very pleasant, but my thoughts overruled all so far. I lifted my legs and cropped myself to a ball on the chair. Maybe if I close my eyes everything will just go away.

The next morning I got up early and heard noises from within the mansion. It seemed to come from Fenris his room. When I walked towards the room, Hawke walked out with Aveline and Fenris.

"Good morning." Hawke said. I greeted him and he walked towards me.

"Are you all right?"

"Couldn't be better." Hawke nodded. He did not seem to believe me, but he nodded. "All right, my neck hurts like hell, but that's what you get from sleeping in a chair." Before he could continue, Sebastian walked in.

"Maker, are you all in need for Fenris his help?" I asked. Garrett laughed and shook his head.

"Actually, I wanted to check if you and Fenris want to help with a mission we're on."

"Oh, enlighten me?"

"There appears to be a group of people in Darktown. I think they have captured a mage which the Templars are searching. If we get there in time, maybe we can save him from that. Don't know much apart from that honestly." I frowned. So now my help to save a mage is asked? Nevertheless, I agreed to come. Sebastian did not seem to agree and walked towards me.

"Lia, can't you stay so we can talk?" I raised my eyebrows.

"No. I... can't. The sooner I earn some money the sooner I can repay people. Maybe I should leave once I manage. There is nothing left for me here now. Right?" I blurred out. As I walked to the door everyone stayed silent and looked at Sebastian. I could softly hear Hawke say something.

"Well done Sebastian." The group quickly followed me outside however and we set pace towards Darktown. There were two groups who wanted to stop us and I finally got to see how this group would work together.

Fenris and Aveline ran straight forward to fight them closely with their weapons while Garrett stayed behind and used his staff to enhance is magical abilities. I tried to stick next to him, despite my distrust and shot those I could with my arrows. When the second group died we were nearly where we needed to be. I pulled out my arrows out of the dead bodies and cleaned them a little.

"You're a good archer." a voice said behind me. I smiled and turned around.

"Thank you." Hawke quickly moved in between us and leaded the way to the group at the bottom of the stairs. One looked like some sort of magister and I noticed hate boiling up in me. I glanced at Fenris and noticed he seemed to disguise his feelings quite well. When the man started laughing and wanted to bind us in irons I felt myself even getting more mad. I closed my eyes and soon opened them again to focus on the man. I walked forward and grabbed the man by his throat. I was so mad that he did not have issues with selling people and let them become slaves. When two of his men grabbed me I could see how much force was in my hands as I saw a trace on the mage his throat.

In response to their actions of taking me of the mage, the elf walked forward and I saw him flare up. Blue light covered his body and soon his hand reached inside the man his chest. I gasped and looked at what situation developed right in front of my eyes with confusion and a bit of fright. Fenris pulled his hand out and the man fell on the ground gasping for air. I looked at Fenris and he just stared at the mage. I felt my heart beating loudly in my chest and when Hawke stated he could not let the man go free because he would condemn thousands of lives into slavery the battle started. I freed myself and other men came from several corners of the room and started fighting us. Garrett made sure they wouldn't come near us while Fenris and Aveline made sure they had the most of the men's attention on them. When they were dead Hawke and Aveline started looting the corpses.

"How did you do that?" I whispered to Fenris.

"We'll talk later. Something happened to you as well." he simply whispered back. Garrett came towards me and grinned.

"Come! Shall we go to the Hanged Man? We can check the map as well and think of some sort of strategy. If we can't, we'll just go there and kill everyone on sight." Garrett grinned. Aveline shook her head and told she would get back to the barracks. She had an actual job to do. Garrett would get the others and asked us to meet them there.

As they played their usual came of cards with the few who wanted to, I went up to talk to Varric. He was the so called story teller of them all and was always asking questions so he could get his facts straight.

"So shining star, want a drink?"

"No thanks Varric."

"How is living with broody? Not too brooding I hope?" I grinned and shook my head.

"Not too brooding no." I laughed.

"So you came to Kirkwall for your beloved Sebastian, eh? Are you two a pair?"

"No we're not, Varric. Maybe I will take you up on that offer for a drink." As he called for two drinks I sat down uncomfortably.

"So you used to be right? That must be strange to see him, but not be a pair. So who have you got your eyes on? I mean, you have met the whole little group of ours? Or is it an outsider?"

"Let's not discuss this right now shall we? Talk about cards or killing methods or anything else, but not that."

"Hmm. Maybe you should rethink living with broody. It seems to affect you." he laughed. I chuckled and casted my eyes at the table where the drinks were put down. I drank up everything in one go and joined the card game. The afternoon and evening went by fast and I briefly wondered if the so called jobs were so rare. If so, it was going to take a while to earn enough money.


	10. Chapter Three Part Three

**Chapter Three – Adjusting Part Three**

When I left it was dark outside. I was nearly at the stairs that would lead to Hightown when I heard noises behind me. When I looked I saw a dark figure flashing behind the corner. Part of me wondered what it was and that I should look, but a larger part told me to rush to the mansion. I did the latter and not long after I heard noises again. This time it caught me off guard when I looked back and I was pushed into a narrow ally.

It was an elven man and I had to blink a couple of times before I recognized him. He whispered something and I couldn't hear what he was saying. Suddenly a woman's voice spoke roughly and pushed the man away.

"Move away slave." she said. My heart sunk to the bottom of my feet. I did not dare to look up at her, but her hands found my throat and made me.

"Hello you. Think you could run from Danarius eh? We'll show you what we do to slaves who think they can manage on their own."

"Hadriana." I whispered.

"Oh yes. Good you remember me. Danarius left me on charge. I was so disappointed he ordered me to let you stay alive." She took out a small knife and thrusted it into my stomach. It didn't go deep, but it was far enough for me to shake on my legs and let me cry out in pain.

"He wants his investments back so badly. It's unbelievable really how his two investments ran off just like that. Speaking of the other one, did you meet him? I bet you did. Where is he?" She demanded as she kept the knife at my throat.

"Why should I tell you? You cannot kill me. You just said so yourself." Hadriana grabbed both my shoulders and I dropped on the floor from the pain. I forced myself not to scream and focused. When she wasn't pleased she dragged me up again and ordered the slaves to take me with them. I did not let them touch me however and I slammed my bow against Hadriana her head. This could give me a head start and I ran as fast as I could. I took a detour, but eventually ended up in Hightown. When I arrived at the mansion I ran up the stairs and walked into the middle room. I sat against the wall and cropped myself up and started humming. I hugged my knees and held a small knife in my hands. Adrenaline rushed through my veins and I hated myself for getting scared like this again.

When the door opened I focused my eyes and the entrance and lowered the sound of my humming. I sat here for a while now, but maybe she found me. Maybe he came this time. The door closed and footsteps made their way on the stairs. When my eyes saw it was Fenris I focused on the ground instead. He rushed towards me and sat down next to me. He took the knife from my hands and looked at it.

"Accalia. Are you hurt? What happened?" When I continued humming he roughly took my arm. My head shot up and I looked at him and then his hand. His bare skin touched my own and I wondered how much pain it would cause him.

"I... I have to leave. I'm putting you in a lot of danger." I whispered. Fenris shook his head and I noticed his hand stayed where it was.

"Fenris? Doesn't that hurt?"

"It's all right." he replied. "Are you hurt?" he asked again.

"It's nothing major. She used the knife to stab me." When I released my knees he saw the bloodstain coming from my stomach. His eyes widened a bit and he wanted to help me stand up.

"I am too tired Fenris."

"Stand up or I will carry you to the healer."

"Wait. Can I... tell you something?" He looked at me with worried eyes, but nodded.

"How do you overcome that pain? It's... hurting so much all the time." I whispered. "What I am trying to say is that Danarius gave me the same markings as you have. It's only on my back though, but it's driving me crazy."

"You get used to it eventually. It will always be there, but you can learn to live with it." he softly replied as he put a bit of hair behind my ear. I felt his hand linger on my skin there. "Maybe you can learn to use it in your advantage as well. I think you can, considering what happened today. You started to glow the way I can." I nodded.

"Do you feel the same that I feel when someone touches you? I mean, I feel like I can never give anyone a hug anymore, or let them touch my shoulders or back. For you it must be so much worse. I feel guilty for causing you pain when you touched me just now."

"It's hard to explain, but trust me when I tell you some things are worth it. No more stalling now however. I don't want to hurt you either, but I will carry you if you do not come with me. I know Garrett can heal a bit as well."

"Garrett? Must we?" I said as I stood up. "Can't we see Anders? I mean, I know Anders. I mean… he healed my arm before and I'm not sure about Garrett." Fenris raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me when I say you can better trust Garrett than Anders." I stood up and walked with Fenris towards Lowtown to see Garrett.

"You know, the walk to Garrett is almost as far as the walk to Anders." I said. "You shouldn't have bothered also. The knife did not go in far."

"You don't want to gain an infection Accalia. Stop being so stubborn." He replied.

"What did Anders do to make you favor Garrett?"

"You do not know?"

"Know what? Oh by the way, I was not joking about leaving. They found me and they know I'm in Kirkwall. They'll find you too if I don't leave."

"Let them come. I will make sure Danarius will never do this to anyone again." Our talk continued and soon we reached Garrett his house. Technically it was of his uncle's though. When Fenris knocked on the door Leandra, Garrett's mother, opened the door.

"Dear Maker. What happened to you, young lady?" She asked when the saw the bloodstain.

"That's a long story. Don't worry, it did not go in far and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Fenris his pushing." The woman guided me in and shouted for her son. When he came out of his room I noticed Anders was in there as well.

"How about that? Anders is here too!" I exclaimed. Garrett seriously guided me to the bedroom and made me lie on his bed so they could heal me properly.

"Maker, what have you done to her Fenris!" Anders accused.

"Shut up mage. I found her like this!"

"Stop arguing. That won't help her at all." Garrett intervened.

"Will you all stop worrying, it's nothing!" When Garrett finished his healing, while Anders looked over his shoulders, he let me sit up again.

"There. Good as new."

"Thank you, Garrett. I'm sorry for coming over at all."

"Don't worry about it. Get some rest and make sure to be up early tomorrow. We'll go to the Wounded Coast to see if we can find the boy." I nodded and Fenris and I left the house again. The walk back took about the same amount of time as the walk towards Garrett his house. We walked slowly and talked about what happened, about what Fenris could do with his tattoo. He told me that it was made of Lyrium and eventually he told me he'd teach me how to use it myself.


	11. Chapter Three Part Four

**Chapter Three – Adjusting Part Four**

We had been drinking some wine again and got to know each other a bit better. She told me that her parents were killed by the same men that killed Sebastian his parents as well. She felt angry and hurt and she was grieving over them. I was not sure what to say that could ease her pain, but I told her she could come to me if she ever wanted to talk.

After a few glasses of wine she started telling me about Sebastian and her as well. It seemed they had quite a bit of history and even though it seemed to be completely over between the both of them I knew she did not take it lightly. She was naïve though, thinking they could go back where they left it. Talking about all of this made me wonder why I had forgotten my past. Of course the markings had been placed all over me, but shouldn't she suffer from memory loss as well? Maybe we would still have to find out if there was something that did not make sense. Only time could tell.

Soft knocking on the door made me snap out of my thoughts. I went down and looked through the window to see who it was. Sebastian was standing in front of the door. Why is he here? If she wants to talk she'll come to him. It annoyed me, but I opened the door after all.

"Fenris. Is Lia… still awake?"

"She fell asleep on the chair. I couldn't get her to go to bed so I let her stay there." He walked in anyway and walked to see her. Sure, go right ahead. It's not like this is my house. I closed the door and followed him. He stopped in the doorway and simply looked.

"Maker, I am a fool." He whispered. I decided not to say anything. "I still love her, why am I letting her go?"

"Maybe you should leave the ball at her side now. You have made it clear how you feel? Give her time to see what she wants." Sebastian lowered his head. He then walked to Accalia and looked at her. His hand moved up and gently touched her face.

"Not clear enough I'm afraid. I think you're right. I've become a coward, but you're right. Fenris, take care of her while she's here. She's been through so much." I remained silent as Sebastian turned around and left left and walked to her room. She had absolutely nothing but her weapons and armor, but this was her room nevertheless. I took the spare blanket and walked back. I put the blanket over here and whispered her goodnight.

.o0o.

I woke up as early as I promised Garrett. I yawned and looked around. I was awake in an instance when I noticed this wasn't my room. I stood up and looked around. He only had a couple rooms in this mansion so I went to the guest room and found him on the chair in front of the fire. Not even on the bed? I softly chuckled and decided to make some breakfast first. I made two portions and ate my own in the kitchen. Not long after I heard soft footsteps coming down. He pretended he sniffed in the air.

"Smells good! I definitely do not mind if you wake me up like this more often." He grinned. As we ate, Garrett walked in with Aveline.

"All awake?" he yelled. When he saw us he motioned for us to come. It was time to go to the Wounded Coast and find the young man. Outside we met with Anders, who refused to come in. Garrett walked with Fenris while Anders and Aveline had slowed down to walk with me.

"Do you remember you wanted to join the guards?"

"Yes…" I simply replied.

"Well. There were some reports about the Guard-Captain and now he is removed from his function and they want me to fill his place. If you want, and if all papers are taken care of, I can make you a guard."

"I appreciate it, though I'm not certain if I will actually want to do that."

"You can also help me in the Clinic if you want?"

"I… what's going on?"

"Well, as long as you're staying in Kirkwall, you can make yourself useful. That's all I'm saying."

"You did not just say that…" I said as my mood changed. Aveline was overall a kind and firm woman, but she had to stick her nose into things that did not even concern her. "I don't know what I will do yet so I'd appreciate it if you will both let me search for something myself." Aveline said nothing in return and walked a bit faster to catch up with Fenris and Hawke.

"Don't mind her. According to her everyone should work and safe the city and not make any trouble, unlike Hawke." He grinned.

"You're doing good work? You are helping people in your clinic just like you helped me as well." I looked at Anders and he just stared back. I smiled. When we arrived at the cave, Garrett stopped. He turned around to face us.

"Listen. If he is still alive, let me do the talking. Be prepared for sudden attacks. Fenris and Aveline will try to keep them all away from us while the rest will attack from a distance. Accalia, how fast are you with that bow of yours?"

"I don't know, the people who we can ask are usually dead before they see something coming."

"If I signal you I'd like you to attack the man closest to Feynriel. Maybe you can use that glow thing of yours, it seems helpful with Fenris?" I frowned and followed the group inside. The atmosphere was totally different inside and we could feel the tension. Finally we nearly arrived in a larger room. We could hear noises coming from the room and we decided to just walk in and see what we could do. The room as filled with guards and when we came in they all reached for their sword, but stopped when their leader raised his hand. The man quickly took a knife and put it at Feynriel's throat.

"You do not want to come further."

"Go ahead." Garrett said. "Kill him." He made a tiny movement with his hand which I noticed and I quickly raised my bow, nocked my arrow, aimed and released within the smallest amount of time. The arrow flew through the man's throat and he fell down. Feynriel backed up against the wall as the fight started and everyone did their work. The boy came down when the guards were all dead and he looked still shaken by what happened.

"You would have let them kill me!" he said in shock. "T…Thank you, but what if you were wrong?"

"I wasn't. You're too valuable to them. They wouldn't have hurt you at all."

"Who sent you, the templars? I'm not going back! I will go to the Dalish to seek refuge and maybe they can help me as well." I looked at Garrett hoping he'd say the right thing.

"The Dalish eh? That might be a good idea. You're half elven anyway."

"What?" I yelled as I stepped forward. "Garrett, you must send him to the Circle. If he so desires to master his talents, surely they can help him best."

"The Circle?" Anders intervened. "Let him go to the Dalish. Really Garrett, you wouldn't want to be send to the Circle if you were in the boy's shoes right?"

"Anders, mages belong in the Circle. Especially if something goes wrong they can be there in time to stop it!" Suddenly Anders his eyes began to turn blue and I saw blue traces in his skin as well. This was not good! I quickly nocked an arrow and raised my bow. Anders was now my target. He seemed possessed even though he promised me he wasn't!

"What are you! Even better, who are you!" Fenris chuckled while Aveline and Garrett tried to calm us both down. "Answer me, abomination! Or die!" I pulled my string further back and Garrett stood in front of me.

"Move Garrett." I simply said.

"Accalia, please." He started to me. I saw Aveline was trying to calm Anders down and while she managed I still stood with my bow raised towards Garrett and Anders. The blue glow was gone and he looked defeated and scared.

"You said you were not possessed! Even though I made a joke the other day, you did not tell me! You are a danger to us all." I growled. I saw their eyes widen and I felt some sort of power run through my veins. My arrow began to glow slightly. Maybe this is what I could do with the markings.

"Accalia, Anders is fine now. I promise you that I won't let him… or this spirit harm anyone. Trust me on this, like you trusted me when I healed you."

"What are you talking about? He is an abomination! He is dangerous and no doubt the demon has already taken over fully and will make plans to get rid of us all no doubt." Garrett moved closer and lowered my bow. I slowly removed the force on the string and faced Garrett.

"Thank you." Garrett whispered. "Aveline, let the boy go to the Dalish." She did as he asked while Garrett kept staying in front of me. I unnocked my arrow and put it back in my quiver.

"If you wish we can talk later." He whispered.

"Tell me Garrett. Are you possessed as well? Are you an abomination?" I said while I felt a bit of the anger leave again.

"I am none of those things. I do not make pacts with either spirits or demons. The only thing I am is an apostate and a friend. One you can trust." I sighed and nodded.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to him. "Don't ever come close to me ever again, Anders." I said a bit louder so Anders could hear me. There was pain in his eyes, but I found myself careless. I turned around and left the cave. I had to get some fresh air.


	12. Chapter Three Part Five

**Chapter Three – Adjusting Part Five**

I sat down against the cave wall and looked to the sea.

"Bastard." I muttered to myself. I sat like that for the next couple of minutes when I heard footsteps coming to my direction from inside the cave. I stood up and noticed it was Garrett and the others. The one thing that remained was that we needed to tell his mother, Feynriel went to the Dalish. Fenris walked up next to me and extended his hand. Something was in there. As I looked to it, he spoke.

"Your share." He said as he dropped coins into my hand. "We went through the corpses. It's surprising to see how much money those idiots carry with them." I grinned and thanked Fenris. When we got back to Kirkwall, Lowtown to be exact, we went to the Alienage. Garrett would visit Merril while we were there, but the rest of us were free to go where we wanted after informing the boy's mother.

She was relieved he was safe, but sad at the same time. She hoped she would get to see her son every now and then, but knew the Dalish were safe enough for him to be. It was different than her initial reason for saving her boy, but it was good enough. When we walked back Fenris decided it was a good idea to train me.

"How about it? You did it again and this time you saw it!"

"Yes I know, but I was so angry. How in the Maker's name am I supposed to use it when I want? Now it's only happening when I'm angry at someone."

"I wish you got the chance to kill him, but maybe our wish will be granted in the future. I'll enjoy the sight of him dying, that's for sure. You can use this however to rely on it." I nodded and agreed to this training. We walked into the mansion and he set up a target for me to shoot at. I had to laugh at the obviously silly sight of shooting in the mansion itself, but he did his best to help me. He then paced around thinking about something.

"We need someone to help." He said.

"I refuse to have Anders here."

"I mean Garrett. He's a mage as well and he might provoke the feeling we need to."

"Hmm." I simply replied as he walked out the door. As I practiced my archery, I waited for Fenris. It didn't take him long to come back with Garrett and the mage had a large grin on his face.

"What?" Fenris sat down on the stairs as he watched us. Without a notice Garrett started talking about mages and that they should be free to do whatever they want and so on. At first I barely gave him a thought, but the longer he continued the more annoyed I got. I walked to the target to get my arrows back and he started walking after me. When my arrows were in my quiver he touched me on my shoulder.

This should not be a part of what Fenris is trying to teach me. I got mad and turned around to roughly grip Garrett his arm.

"Don't touch me, mage." I growled in anger. I felt adrenaline coursing through my veins and I saw he still had a smile on his face and continued his story. He kept going on and on about how maybe the mages should be freed from the templars and the Gallows. When I looked to Fenris, still very angry at Garrett his words, I saw him smiling.

"Shoot that arrow now." He simply said. Garrett didn't stop talking, but I did as he asked. I nocked my arrow without too much thought and I aimed it at the target in the other room. I saw the arrow had a glow over it and wondered if I needed to be angry all the time. I shot it and the arrow flew through the target and got stuck in the wall.

I lowered my bow and sighed. Does Fenris has to be angry as well in order to activate this? Garrett was still going on and I looked at him.

"You may stop now, Garrett. Thank you." I softly said. He did as I asked and jumped around happy he managed to help me. I stood at my place and he walked towards me.

"You have earned a hug for this!"

"I'd rather you didn't." I replied. He pouted, but nodded as he understood the reason. Garrett sat down next to Fenris and left me standing with my bow, looking at the arrow in the wall.

"Do it again."

"I don't feel angry anymore, Fenris. I'm just sad that it takes anger to use it."

"Think about it then. Focus on it, you don't have to be just angry to use it." I nocked my arrow, I did as he asked and I focused. I thought back about what happened and what Danarius did. What a mage has done to me. That Anders became an abomination right in front of me. I sighed and raised my bow with these thoughts running through my mind. I felt the markings respond and aimed at the target. My arrow was starting to light up and when I found it bright enough I released my arrow.

I found it no wonder if someone was negative about mages all the time when they had to do this to activate their markings in a way it could be used. I sighed and walked to the other room to get my arrows. Or at least attempt to get them from the wall. When I arrived I saw that they were in too deep and sat on a crate nearby. Slowly I ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn't sit still and I shot up again. I shook my head. This needs to stop. I will accept this and use it to my advantage.

When I walked back the two were still sitting on the stairs. They looked at me when I entered the room with raised eyebrows.

"What?" I said while I lifted up my shoulders. "They're stuck."

"I gotta go." Garrett said. "We almost have enough to go to the Deep Roads, so have your weapons, in your case Accalia arrows, ready. I guess we have to work a few days until we can gather in Hightown to see Bartrand. I'm glad when that's over though." He said as he walked out the door.

.o0o.

I had to admit that despite the fact I didn't know her for very long, she was a kind, beautiful woman and I was growing fond of her. The moment she seemed to get the lyrium under control I felt proud. It was a feeling that I was not very familiar with, at least to my knowledge. She left to make a walk around Kirkwall and I found myself thinking of her wellbeing. I barely did anything until I heard the door open again. I heard her voice along with the voice of someone else.

"Lia, will you just listen to me?" I walked out of the room to take a peak of what was happening. Why would he press this further? I saw Sebastian taking her arm and pull her towards him. She gasped and stayed where she was.

"I have done a lot of praying and thinking and I was a fool to let you slip away. Despite the years that have passed I found myself still caring for you."

"Maker, Sebastian. You have already told me you _care_ for me." She said as she released herself from his hands. "Must we go over this again? You made it quite clear the only one you belong to is the Maker, remember?" He sighed and I started smiling.

"I am willing to leave for you, don't you see? Or maybe you can join me?" he tentatively asked. She started laughing and hurt crossed the eyes of Sebastian.

"Me? A Sister? You have got to be kidding." She said. "You can expect me to live like that? I will not be held in some Chantry."

"You shouldn't see it as such. You can commit yourself to the Maker. Together we can serve the Chantry like nobody else can."

"No." she said as she turned around again. Sebastian took her arm again and turned her around after which he pushed her against the wall. He didn't look like the wanted to hurt her, more like…. I shook my head. I didn't want him to! I frowned as I continued to stare at them.

"Then let me be with you, away from the Chantry. Help me reclaim my lands." He said as his hand caressed her face. He closed in on her, leaving her unable to respond. My hands turned into fists. She just stared at him. As he closed his eyes and wanted to claim a kiss she turned her head aside and quickly removed herself leaving nothing but space between Sebastian and the wall.

"Leave." She said. "We're over, Sebastian. I'm sorry. I have thought for so long we belonged together, but now we're over. Accept that like I have as well." She whispered as she faced the stairs. When the doors softly closed she sank to her knees, letting out small soft sobs.

"We're over." She whispered to herself as if she needed to confirm it.


End file.
